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Cronos
"The murderer of Gaia enters my tomb?" – Cronos Greek Mythology In Greek mythology, Cronos (Κρόνος) was the leader and also the youngest of the first generation of Titans. During the reign of Ouranos, the sky, the hundred-armed Hecatonchires and one-eyed Cyclops were imprisoned within Tartarus, causing Gaia great pain (Tartarus being her bowels). She created a stone sickle for one of her Titan sons to kill Ouranos and take his place as ruler. Only Cronos was willing to do the deed, and so Gaia gave him the sickle and placed him in ambush. When Ouranos met with Gaia, Cronos attacked his father and cut off his genitals, castrating him and casting the severed member into the sea. From the blood sprouted the Gigantes, Erinyes, and Meliae. From the member that was cast into the sea, Aphrodite emerged. After defeating Ouranos, Cronos reimprisoned the Hecatonchires and the Cyclops along with the Gigantes and set the dragon Campe to guard them forever. He and his sister-wife Rhea took the throne of the world as king and queen. This period of Cronos' rule was called the Golden Age, as the people of the time had no need for laws or rules; everyone did the right thing, and immorality was absent. Cronos learned from the Sisters of Fate that he was destined to be overcome by his own son, just as he had overthrown his father. As a result, although he sired the gods Demeter, Hera, Hades, Hestia, and Poseidon by Rhea, he swallowed them all as soon as they were born to preempt the prophecy. The sixth and final child, Zeus, would become the son destined to overthrow Cronos and defeat the Titans. Cronos was usually depicted with a sickle, which he used to harvest crops and also the weapon used to defeat Ouranos. Other children he is reputed to have fathered Chiron, by Philyra. His Roman counterpart is Saturn. In the God of War Series Birth and Early Days In the beginning, the mighty Titans were created by the union of Gaia and Ouranos. They were all born on the Island of Creation, home to the Sisters of Fate. Above any other beings, including the Titans, the Sisters of Fate could see the future and predict what would happen to any living being. The Titans feared the Sisters of Fate for this, and left the Island of Creation to rule the mortal world. This marked the beginning of the Golden Age of Mankind. Cronos, the mighty ruler of the Titans, was prophesized to be overthrown by his own children in the future. To prevent this from coming true, Cronos tried to bribe the Sisters of Fate into changing his destiny by granting them the Steeds of Time. However, this gift would not prevent the prophecy from coming true. In a second attempt to prevent this from happening, his wife, Rhea, bore his children and one by one he swallowed them whole, imprisoning them within his belly. Rhea could not bear another loss, for she already had five children taken from her. When the sixth child, Zeus, was born, Rhea called upon an eagle to take the baby far away from the watchful eyes of Cronos. In the baby's place, Rhea wrapped a stone in cloth and offered it to Cronos, who foolishly believed it to be the baby and swallowed it. Great War Farther beyond the Island of Creation, baby Zeus was reared by Gaia. She cared for Zeus and nurtured his desire to free his siblings from Cronos. When he came of age, Zeus freed them and started a war against the Titans. He desired to rule over the mortals more than anything. The continuous battles between the new gods and the Titans forged the landscape of the mortal world. The mighty Atlas was the leader of the Titans in their epic battle against the gods. Mountains were hurled like pebbles and tremendous earthquakes shook the world. Cronos had almost been defeated, but was saved by Atlas, who was defeated by both Hades and Poseidon. After Zeus created the Blade of Olympus, the Titans were banished to the darkest pits of Tartarus to endure great suffering for all time, but Cronos would be granted another great fate in time. ''God of War'' Zeus punished Cronos by forcing him to wander the Desert of Lost Souls with Pandora's Temple chained to his back. The whirling sands may have one day ripped the very flesh from Cronos' bones, but he was given no sympathy. When the Titan Horn would be blown, Cronos would be called upon to allow countless warriors to endure the many dangers which lurked within the temple. Above all warriors, Kratos, the Ghost of Sparta, was responsible for completing the many feats within the temple and even retrieving Pandora's Box. ''God of War II'' Kratos also discovered the magic Cronos had hidden within the Steeds of Time. This magic, called Cronos' Rage, allowed Kratos to electrify his enemies much like Poseidon's Rage. Nothing else is known about the Titan other than the fact that he was responsible for destroying his own father, starting a vicious cycle. This cycle was between fathers being destroyed by their sons, much like Kratos tried to do when he fought Zeus upon the Summit of Sacrifice. ''God of War III'' "Kratos! Your death will not be a gentle one!" - Cronos It is revealed that after Kratos made use of Pandora's Box, Zeus became consumed with fear and banished Cronos to the Pits of Tartarus so that the Titan would be tormented for all eternity. He is encountered in the Underworld still with Pandora's Temple on his back. There he reveals to Kratos that after he managed to find Pandora's Box and used it to kill Ares, Zeus became paranoid and banished Cronos to Tartarus, the empty, unused Temple of Pandora still chained to his back. He blames the Ghost of Sparta for his torment. Kratos defends that he was tasked by the Gods to kill Ares; Cronos retorts that he did so because of his need for vengeance. Believing Kratos had killed Gaia, Cronos tries to squash Kratos despite the latter claiming that he now fights against Zeus. Eventually, Kratos uses Solar Flare to blind him. Cronos still tries to squash Kratos but Kratos manages to maneuver his way around Cronos's body, and then take Cronos' fingernail off, but is eventually devoured by him. After falling down Cronos's throat and into his stomach, Kratos uses the Blade of Olympus to slice his way out, spilling Cronos's intestines. He then uses a piece of Cronos's shackles to impale him through the jaw and uses the blade again to stab him in the forehead. Cronos collapses and dies, but not before cursing Kratos' name, marking him a "coward who kills his own kin" (referring to killing his family, though one should note that Zeus is his father and Cronos is his grandfather, therefore also referring to killing his parents). Powers and abilities Cronos possesses extreme superhuman strength and stamina, which can be attributed to his massive size. He was also the only Titan brave enough to stand up to Ouranos, dismembering him and becoming the new ruler of the world. Trivia *In God of War II, Cronos is voiced by Lloyd Sherr. In God of War III, he is voiced by George Ball. *In God of War, Kratos was surprised that Cronos still existed. However, this makes little sense because he had seen and fought Atlas ten years prior in God of War: Chains of Olympus. He might have believed Cronos was killed by Zeus. Although he may have just been shocked to hear a Titan was still present in the mortal world, whereas Atlas had been freed from the Underworld. *In God of War, Cronos is shown in cutscenes with only four fingers in each hand, but in God of War III, he has five. *A special feature in God of War named 'Fate of the Titan' told of how Cronos continued to wander the desert for a further thousand years, the temple still chained to his back. It then cuts to the present day, where the massive skeleton of Cronos lies in the desert. The narrator tells of how a band of explorers is preparing to enter the temple once again. This plot was never pursued, and Cronos' body presumably remained in Tartarus after the events of God of War III. Oddly enough, the skull of Cronos in 'Fate of the Titan' appears to have a hole in it at the exact spot where Kratos stabbed him. This is almost certainly a coincidence. *When you defeat Cronos and he starts choking, the cut that Kratos made in Cronos' body is not there. *In the first God of War, Cronos' name was spelled as "Kronos." * In Greek mythology, Cronos, or Kronos (Ancient Greek Κρόνος, Krónos) was the leader and the youngest of the first generation of Titans, and his wife Rhea, considered the mother of gods. * Common misconceptions include mistaking Cronos the Titan for Chronos, the personification of time, and vice versa. *The Temple of Pandora chained onto the back of Cronos as he fights Kratos in God of War III appears to be much smaller in size than the Temple of Pandora shown in God of War. *When returning to Hephaestus in his forge with the Omphalos Stone you can clearly see the collapsed Cronos in the forge. *Cronos was also the brother of Hyperion who's children were Helios, Eos, and Selene. *An interesting note is that, even though Cronos was already in Tartarus because of Kratos, the Titan still offered his help in God of War II. This was possibly due to Kratos' truce with the Titans to help defeat Zeus. Once Kratos tried to murder Gaia, Cronos possibly decided the truce broken, and in his turn tried to kill Kratos. Gallery File:Kronos_1.png|Cronos approaching the sacrifice altar File:Kronos_3.png|Cronos picks ups a rock believing it is Zeus File:Konos_2.png|Cronos devours a disguised rock File:Kronos_12.png|Cronos after being saved by Atlas File:Kronos_11.png|Cronos being attacked by Hades File:Kronos_13.png|Cronos wandering the desert of lost souls File:Kronos_15.png File:Kronos_4.png|Cronos spectral image File:Cronos_Power.jpg|Cronos giving Kratos Cronos' Rage File:Cronos-Smush-Kratos.jpg|Cronos trying to crush Kratos File:4579.png|Kratos during his fight against Cronos File:Kronos_16.png|Cronos talking to Kratos before their battle File:Kronos_17.png|Cronos about to devour Kratos File:Kronos_19.png|Kratos sliding down inside Cronos' throat File:Kronos_112.png|Cronos right before his stomach is sliced wide open File:Kronos_21.png|Kratos after slicing Cronos' stomach open to escape File:Kronos_111.png|Cronos having his jaw impaled File:Zeus_171.png|Cronos' death File:Kronbos_2.png|Cronos after Kratos stabs him in the forehead File:Deat_kronos.png Category:Characters Category:God of War Category:God of War 1 Characters Category:God of War II Category:God of War 2 Characters Category:God of War III Category:God of War III Bosses Category:God of War 3 Characters Category:Titans Category:Immortals Category:Relatives of Zeus Category:Deceased characters